Along with WhatsApp, other firms being targeted in these scams include PayPal, Facebook, Microsoft and Netflix.
If you are concerned about these types of online attacks then the UK’s National Cyber Security Center has some good advice for consumers.
Here’s their top tips for avoiding phishing scams online.
• Many phishing scams originate overseas and often the spelling, grammar and punctuation are poor. Others will try and create official-looking emails by including logos and graphics. Is the design (and quality) what would you’d expect from a large organisation?
• Is it addressed to you by name, or does it refer to ‘valued customer’, or ‘friend’, or ‘colleague’? This can be a sign that the sender does not actually know you, and that it is part of a phishing scam.